


The marks left behind

by axol0t



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Adopted TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Angst, Author Projecting onto Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Bisexual, Caring Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Clay Dream's Sister Drista Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Technoblade Friendship (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), DNF, Darryl Noveschosch is Called BadBoyHalo, Drug Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Fluff, Flustered Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Flustered GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Gay, Gen, Good Friend Darryl Noveschosch, Good Friend Zak Ahmed, Gream - Freeform, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Internalized Homophobia, It’s my first time writing something related to skating, Karlnapity, Lesbian, Long-Haired Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), M/M, Mentioned Darryl Noveschosch, Minecraft, Multi, Mutual Pining, Oblivious, Oblivious Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Oblivious Darryl Noveschosch, Oblivious GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Parent Sam | Awesamdude, Parental Sam | Awesamdude, Past Abuse, Pining Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Pining GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Polyamory, Sick Character, Skephalo, Slow Burn, Touch-Starved Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), dream is a hockey player, dreamnotfound, figureskater, george is a figure skater, hockeyplayer, iceskater, karlnap, mcyt - Freeform, polygamous, theyre gay your honor, work with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:42:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29102733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axol0t/pseuds/axol0t
Summary: This is a figure skater George and Hockey Player Dream au!||" He's so beautiful " Dream thought to himself, he could watch the brunette skate all day, he was so attached to him, he didn't care if he didn't notice him, it was enough just to watch him.He was broken out of his gaze by his beloved friend, Sapnap, it was time to get changed and get onto the ice, Dream looked once more before looking away, But little did the Blonde know, George stared back, he always did.||
Relationships: Dnf - Relationship, Karlnap - Relationship, Karlnapity - Relationship, dreamnotfound - Relationship, gream - Relationship
Comments: 15
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1 ୧Practice୨

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐏𝐎𝐕  
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈  
𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝟔 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬.  
𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟓 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲.  
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐩, 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫.  
" 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐤 " 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦, " 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞. " 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.  
𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩, 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 ' 𝐡𝐢 ' 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦 𝐮𝐩, 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝 , 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫, 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 , 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐲, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫.  
" 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐠𝐲! " 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐨𝐟𝐟, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥, 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 ' 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐬 ' 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐇𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 , 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧, 𝐆𝐨𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥, " 𝐆𝐨𝐠𝐲? 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲? " 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐛𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟.  
|| 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐞 ||  
𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐚 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐱𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 , 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐇𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐦𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝𝐬.  
𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭, 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐧 , 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝, 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 , 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩, 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬.  
𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 , 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧, 𝐇𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠 𝐮𝐩, 𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐦, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐭 , 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, 𝐇𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐲, 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐤𝐢𝐝, 𝐇𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬.  
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥, 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 ' 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 ' 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.  
𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐝, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 , 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭.  
𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐱, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐩𝐬, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, ' 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞. ' 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡, " 𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩? 𝐰𝐡𝐨'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐠𝐮𝐲? " 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 , 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝, " 𝐎𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤. " 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.  
' 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. ' 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦.  
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈  
𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 ; Axol0t (axol0t)   
𝐓𝐢𝐤 𝐭𝐨𝐤 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ; loverg._   
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ; 𝟏𝟐𝟐𝟕


	2. Chapter 2 [ the beginning of the night ]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What if , ,, George and Dream became ‘friends’ ?

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐡𝐚𝐢 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬   
❉ ╤╤╤╤ ✿ ╤╤╤╤ ❉  
𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐎𝐕   
❉ ╧╧╧╧ ✿ ╧╧╧╧ ❉  
𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 , 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲'𝐬 𝐂𝐚𝐫, 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥.  
‘ ‘ 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐫 𝐠𝐨𝐠𝐲?’ ‘ 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.   
‘ ‘ 𝐬𝐨, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥?’ ‘ 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 , 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝, 𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲, ‘ ‘ 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦? 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠?’ ‘ 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰? 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡? 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, ‘ ‘ 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫.’ ‘ 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞, 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞’𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬, ‘ ‘ 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 , 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝟐 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬.’ ‘ 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐫, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥, 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝, 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, ‘ ‘ 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐭,’ ‘ 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 , 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡, ‘ ‘ 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐋𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐈𝐓 𝐀 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐀𝐑,’ ‘ 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐇𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, 𝐋𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦.  
𝐈𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧, 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫, 𝐰𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 ‘ 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 ‘ 𝐭𝐨 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐤𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭, ‘ ‘ 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 , 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡.’ ‘ 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐮𝐩, ‘ ‘ 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈’𝐦 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?’ ‘ 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲, ‘ ‘ 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐈 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐭, 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬.’ ‘ 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐣𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐬, 𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐬, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧, 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 , 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐰 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞, ‘ ‘ 𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐘 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋? 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐆𝐎!’ ‘ 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞’𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 , ‘ ‘ 𝐆𝐎𝐆𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐒𝐒, 𝐈𝐌 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐄’ ‘ 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥, 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐈𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, ‘ ‘ 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊-‘ ‘ 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐲𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝, 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐭𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨 , ‘ ‘ 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐬. ‘ ‘ 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 ‘ 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐲 ‘ , 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐚𝐰 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐭, 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, ‘ ‘ 𝐈’𝐦 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 , 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐰. ‘ ‘ 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐤, 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞’𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐩𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤, ‘ ‘ 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫.’ ‘ 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝, 𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟, ‘ ‘ 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲 ,𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞. ‘ ‘ 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐧𝐚𝐩 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐭𝐲, ‘ ‘ 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 , 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐚𝐩. ‘ ‘ 𝐆𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 , 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲, 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐞𝐚 𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐌𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐦, 𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.  
╔⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╗  
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 ; 𝟗𝟓𝟖  
╚⊶⊶⊶⊶⊶✞⊷⊷⊷⊷⊷╝


	3. Chapter 3 ༓ Feelings , but make it double ༓

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quackity finally decides to face up and agree that he does have feelings for two boys, but what happens when Truth or dare takes a twist?

3rd person POV [ but it follows Quackity, Karlnapity for the soul guys ]  
Listen to " cotton candy skies by esthie "  
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵  
Quackity sat between Karl and Sapnap, his body swaying from side to side as he as between his two crushes, wait, what? Quackity thought, that's weird, no, he can't like two people at the same time Quackity thought, softly panicking and sweating, Karl took notice and rubbed his back , Quackity snapped out from his little sexuality crisis to look up and see everyone staring at the heavily breathing short black haired boy, he laughed and scratched the back of his neck, now looking away and hugging his knees.  
He grabbed his phone and searched it up, poly? Is he that? Quackity thought, he took a glance at the two boys, Karl's laughter beamed the room, which backed up Sapnap's quiet laugh, they lit up quackitys world, he turned away, now a blushing mess.  
Yep, I'm definitely poly. Quackity thought while rubbing his temples.  
Quackity scooted himself back to the group, still holding his knees and biting his nails, suddenly Sapnap had scooped up Quackity and laid him on his lap, Karl and Sapnap glared at each other, Quackity had caught on, so this is the game they're playing he thought and smirked, he looked up at the two boys and smiled at both of them, a heart melting smile of course, because, why not play around with the Two older boys for a small change?  
Quackity took Karl's hand and intertwined it in his own while laying his head on sapnaps chest, the three boys malfunctioned while George and Dream cooed at them and whistled as a joke, Quackity sent him a glare which caused George to laugh and hit Dreams arm.  
" what if we—play truth or dare? " George asked, winking at quackity, Quackity shook his head but in the end everyone said yes and went along with it,  
" okay, quackity , truth or dare? " George asked, clearly pissed about what had happened today, " Truth?- " Quackity shot back nervously, George grabbed quackity and pulled him to the ground which made Quackity screech a bit in laughter , " IS IT TRUE THAT YOUR DUMBASS ALMOST KILLED US TODAY " George screamed whispered at him while softly tickling Quackity, Causing the others to laugh and dream to stare in shock, " Yes! — yes it is- STOP " Quackity screeched in middle of fits of laughter, George stopped and smirked pointing his index and middle finger at him while he walked back to his spot next to dream, Quackity wheezed and flipped him off as he went back to Sapnaps Lap, Quackity looked at George and held a Glare, " Georgie-Poo " Quackity said holding the 'O' on the word, " no— you can't do that, pick someone else. " George said waving Quackity off, " HEY, this is my fucking sleepover, this is democracy bitch. " Quackity said before looking at George and smirking, " Truth or dare, colorblind bitch" Quackity said , George was fuming and Simply said ' Dare ' , " give me a kiss baby " said puffing his lips out, Karl and Sapnap held Quackity tighter while he laughed, " no, you look musty, I choose truth, " George retorted, Quackity rolled his eyes and looked at his nails, " What's your sexuality? " Quackity calmly said, George began to panic silently and stared at Quackity, " what's your sexuality? " George said as well, they held a glare before counting down, " poly " quackity said at the same time as George said ' Gay ' , they looked at each other then jumped up and laughed as they held each other, " YOURE SO GAY " quackity screamed, " ew, I think I know who you like. " George said, staring at Sapnap and Karl, he made a motion of vomiting while Quackity punched him playfully , Karl and Sapnap did their little dancy dance as they found out their crush could finally be with both of them and they didn't have a reason to fight anymore, Dream coughed which led the round to go on, " Karl , Truth or dare? " Sapnap said softly, Karl looked at him and smirked as he said ' Dare, ', " go on a date with me and quackity, " Sapnap said in a seductive low voice, Quackity shot up from laying beside George and Stared at the two, there's no fucking way he'll agree Quackity said, his face now tinted a light pink , " Okay, when? " Karl giggled and then they both stared at the Hispanic man in front of them, George went into fits of laughter , rolling around the floor, while Dream tried to calm the Oldest male down, " when are you free , Quackity? " Sapnap said, so many thoughts rushed through his head, what the fuck, pizza? Pizza sounds so good rn, BAZINGA, we did it, why, am I even free? I can have both of them? Twice the ass, nice, IM FREE FRIDAY- he thought, he stared for a moment before coughing and trying to hide his face, " Friday, I'm free Friday, " Quackity said softly before hitting George's arm lightly to stop him from laughing, the two boys nodded and smirked.  
This was not was I was expecting tonight. Quackity said to himself, still covering his mouth, not allowing any sort of blush escape his tan skin.  
︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵  
Word count : 869


	4. Chapter 4 ₓₒthe sound of lightningₓₒ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George has flashbacks but luckily Dream is there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI SO IM SORRY FOR NOT POSTING IN A BIT, ILL BE UPDATING NY STORIES MORE OFTEN NOW, THE ONESHOT WILL BE UPDATED IN TWO DAYS AND TOMORROW WILL BE IN THE END YOU WERE RIGHT, ANYWAYS SORRY FOR THE DELAY I DIDNT HAVE INSPIRATION-
> 
> also yes my name is aziel and My pronouns are she/they, I rather you refer to me as azi or aziel QwQ

3rd Person POV   
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It had been exactly 3 hours since Karl and sapnap asked out Quackity, 2 hours since dinner and 1 hour since everyone had gone to sleep, everyone but George, the rain hit the roof perfectly, making a small static sound as it hit the other puddles of water, George sighed and turned his head, he was laying on the floor with a small blanket and a white pillow his friend had given him, Dream being across from him and the 3 lovers laying on the bed cuddling, it's not that George was wide awake, no that's far from the truth, he was tired, but of course he had to have that one fear of lightning , yes it might only be raining and there might only be thunder but lightning always came it always haunted him.  
He laid restless and he stared up at quackity's ceiling, he slowly rose up and got into a seating position and made his way to quackity's window which had a small couch by it, even though he may be scared, the sound of rain always calmed him.  
He laid his head on the window sill staring out softly till he felt a hand land on his shoulder, he flinched and looked behind him, " woah— sorry, didn't mean to scare you. " Dream said , awkwardly laughing, George hummed and stared at him for a minute before slowly looking at the window sill, " yeah it's fine, why are you up? " George said, Dream coughed and sat next to him, " Maybe because you turned and shit in your sleep, or maybe just my boyfriend. " Dream said nonchalantly, George looked at him for a minute and smiled, nodding his head while doing so, but even though they had just met it hurt him, he didn't know why, but it did, and it hurt a lot.  
" why are you awake? " Dream asked plainly, looking at George, " I don't know, I can't sleep. " George said , trying to not let his voice crack, " Your eye bags would say differently, what actually going on Georgie poo? " Dream said smirking and letting out a soft wheeze which cause George to hit Dreams right arm playfully before giggling to himself, " well — " George started but got caught off by the sound of lightning which made him flinch and shake at the loud sound.  
Dream took notice and laughed softly before taking George into his arms and holding him tight, it didn't seem wrong to him, they were friends right? This is what friends did right? .  
George closed his eyes tight and held onto Dream as if he was his life line, clinging onto his shirt, George knew why he was scared, and he knew that it'd haunt him forever, Dream caressed George's hair , making small ' shh ' sounds , and maybe that's what took him back to that night.  
" george! Come back here, " George's father said laughing and chasing a kid George whom was screaming and running happily throughout the backyard of his home, his mother yelled that the food would be ready in a minute, but that's when rain started to fall, he was scared like any other kid would be and ran down the forest of his backyard, a little too far to the point he couldn't locate his house, a 8 year old George was now lost in the woods, and rain fell harder and harder, he heard the soft sounds of his father calling out for him but they soon became faint and slowly stopped.  
He saw the light of lightning, it was bright and it almost looked like it was next to him, he felt the soft impact of the lightning bolt hitting the ground, and that was enough for him to go and hide in a small tree which had a hole, he was shaking non stop, he saw trees fall all around him due to lightning and the hard rain, he stayed there until the next day when his mother and father found him and took him back to his home, where he stayed in his room till the next week, slowly coming out for food and to shower.  
He started crying at the memory of being alone in the woods, he kept clinging onto Dream , small hiccups coming from his mouth and not showing any signs of stopping, Dream just stood there and laid his head on George's head, and like that George had been tired out , he had fallen asleep on Dream, Dream let out a soft smile but his heart started racing, his face had turned into a light shade of pink, he covered his face and turned his head backwards, he never felt like this with fundy, he felt like a dick, why was he feeling like this? He has a boyfriend, but, that didn't stop him from having feelings, maybe he should just break it off with Fundy, they haven't hung out in a while or talked, George kept running his fingers through George's hair, he turned to Look at the rain and saw a small lizard on the window.  
" what do you think small guy? Am I a dick? " Dream said softly, the lizard gave him a weird look before slithering off, leaving Dream to laugh at himself, George stirred around which caused Dream to suck in a breath to stop himself from laughing and not wake up the older boy, George had finally stopped once he found himself comfortable and Dream exhaled, letting out the breath he had previously had been holding in, he smiled and put his head back on top of George's, closing his eyes and falling asleep to the sound of rain and lightning.  
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Word count; 952


	5. Chapter 5 ❆ feelings that remain unheard ❆

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George panics as soon as memories rush back but decides to keep his feelings to himself, but what other feelings is he hiding?

3rd Person POV  
[ song; feelings are fatal by mxmtoon ]

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The light translucently went through the window, hitting George's face faintly, his eyes flinched softly before waking up to the sound of trifling snores. George looked above to see Dreams head laid back against a wall, holding him tight. George smiled to himself and kept looking out the window, trying to sit as still as he could to avoid waking up the younger male.

George kept looking outside the window, the rain had stopped leaving small puddles of water along with mud. George sighed as he remembered last nights events, the crying, the cuddling with his new found friendship, it was all a mess, something he wished was just a dream, scratch that. A nightmare. George finally felt his friend stir awake, he smiled to himself and looked up at the blonde male. " good morning , Dream. " George said smiling benevolently, Dream yawned before stretching his bones to the point of cracking. " good morning, George, you feeling better? " Dream said carefully as if the boy would break right in front of him as he had the night before, George nodded his head before Dream released him from his grip allowing himself to get up, Dream following lead.

George and Dream walked down the stairs which seemed newly polished, now a scratch or piece of dust in sight. The two boys were met by their friends which seemed to be cooking breakfast, the two males whom had just recently woken up were ushered to sit down on a stool by the counter. George and Dream were greeted by two plates, one probably made by Sapnap and the other by Quackity and Karl, George glanced up at Sapnap then at the other two boys, he gulped before digging into the bronze looking pancake which actually tasted good. He glanced at the burned pancake which actually looked like charcoal and passed it over to Dream who had just finished his pancake. " what? I am not eating two of those, eat it. " Dream said as he glanced at George, George shook his head and kept passing him the charcoaled colored pancake. " eat! I'm not eating that, it looks dead. " George said , Dream grabbed the pancake and sniffed it, George gagged in disgust. " it smells like it too. " Dream said as he put the pancake down.

Dream grabbed the charcoaled pancake and stuffed it into his mouth, making George look at him wide eyed, " Are you — " George couldn't finish his sentence before he saw Dream stagger off the stool to the nearest trash can to spit it out, the room was filled with laughter as soon as he did so. Except for a embarrassed Sapnap and Disgusted Dream.

George grabbed a bag that was at the doorway, his duffel bag, he swiftly made a move from the front door to the upstairs bedroom which the others were staying in. George finally made it to the door and set his bag down to open the door, subsequently he grabbed the bag once again and put it inside the room, he waved at the 4 who were watching a movie. He sighed and shook his head, stretch his fingers and cracking them before kneeling down next to his duffel bag and opening it carefully. He grabbed clothes, a towel and deodorant. He got up from his position ensuing his way to the bathroom which was connected to quackity' s room.

He opened the door and locked it almost immediately, putting the clothes and other necessities on the counter of the sink. He slid down onto the floor, reliving the same nightmare as yesterday, how he had gotten lost, how alone he was. His breathing started to speed up and everything was turning black until he heard a soft knock which had somehow snapped him out of the little episode he was about to have. " George? You okay in there? " It sounded like Karl, George smiled at his friends concern and got into a sitting position before talking back. " Yeah, sorry, I zoned out, I'll be out in 10. " George said tenderly, Karl smiled and went back to sitting with the other three.

George turned on the water faucet, changing it to going to the shower head, The loud hits against the shower floor filled the entire bathroom. George merely hoped that the loud noise couldn't be heard from the outside, he stripped his clothes off , staring in the mirror at his neck which to some point was fairly white, whiter than his skin color. George stepped into the hot shower, expected to be hit by cold water he was instead hit with warm, boiling water that caused him to flinch at the slightest droplets.

A few minutes had passed as George carefully stepped out of the shower, attempting his best not to slip. He slowly wrapped a brown towel over his reproductive system. Before George knew it he had already changed, he stared once again at the mirror, instead of the blue hoodie he always wears he changed it up, a black turtle neck accompanied by a dark green shirt which matched perfectly with the black ripped jeans, he looked at himself once more in the mirror and simply smiled.

Once he reached the rooms once again he saw Sapnap, quackity and Karl all kissing each other, smooching their faces off, while Dream was in a corner making gagging noises which just made the polyamorous partners keep going. George laughed and sat besides Dream. " so, what happened? " George smirked while talking to clay his voice coming off skittishly, Dream facepalmed and waved his head around while looking at the pair. " We were just watching a movie and the 3 idiots started kissing! " Dream said like a maniac, George laughed at the fact that this man was going insane by just staying alone with them for a few minutes. George wondered what would happen in a month.

Dream dramatically re-enacted what the couple of three were doing while turning away and hugging himself while moving his face slightly and making smooching noises to make it look like he was kissing someone, George, Karl and Quackity laughed. Sapnap started yelling out of embarrassment. " OH YEAH? THEN GO EAT GEORGES FACE OFF. " Sapnap finally said, Dream stopped moving and George stared at him. His face now turning a light shade of pink. Dream argued back as the color of red filled every single part of his face, George looked away and started to think to himself.

Why, why did i act like that? He has a boyfriend. God, this is stupid, it's probably the embarrassment. George thought to himself. Calming himself down in the process, George turned back to see a now calmed Sapnap and Dream. " what a big change in mood. " George said as he leaned back , laying on the floor. The group laughed at the comment George had made.

'It's better to put my feelings aside for now' George thought to himself as he closed his eyes and let the others talk amongst themselves, making comments every once in a while.

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Word count; 1,185


	6. Chapter 6 • Falling •

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy decides to learn how to figure skate, George is his tutor.

3rd Person POV  
[ Song; silly girl by Chloe moriondo ]  
Thank you guys for 1,342 hits, I appreciate it! :]

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The sun glimmered at the paved sidewalk, it was a Monday. George breathed in a heave breath as his duffel bag which contained all of his skating equipment swayed on his back. George's feet kept making the same repetitive movement as he walked, mean while, George stared down at his phone. Scrolling through Twitter.

A loud voice boomed through George's ears. " ey! Gogy. " A loud British accent said from a far, making George roll his eyes and stare at the blonde haired boy.

" yes, tomathy? " George said scornfully. Tommy winced at the sound of his real name being used and scolded George for a quick moment, making George let out a heavy laugh. Tommy straightened his shirt and crossed his arms, staring at the colorblind man.

" you think— uh, you could teach me how to figure skate? " Tommy said, a pink tint rising up his face. Rubbing his hand on the back of his neck in embarrassment. George beamed in excitement, someone asked him for lessons. Shockingly, Tommy was that person.

" aww! Tommy, of course I will. " George said, grabbing the boy and drawing him down to the shorter boys height and ruffling his hair. Tommy let out an awkward laugh and playful insults as he tried to get out of George's grip.

" so , do you wanna come now? Or some other time?— " George asked before being interrupted by the tall child. 

" actually, I don't have any skates?— or anything really. " Tommy said before standing up straightly and shoving his hands in his pockets, George groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. 

" fine, I can practice some other day. Do you have any cash? " George asked , crossing his arms and glaring down the younger. Tommy laughed and put his hands on his hips, going down to George's height to mock him.

" of course I do , gogy. " Tommy said harshly, George hummed before turning around and making his way to the nearest skate shop.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

George swung the door open and let the cold air of the store hit his face, he breathed in and out before walking in. Tommy walking in behind him.

" welcome, how can I help you? " He heard a boy say, but he took a moment to realize who it was, and then it clicked.

" Dream? " George said softly as he walked to the register, leaving Tommy confused as he stood beside George.

" oh! Hello ,George. " Dream smiled at him, he put his elbows on the counter and his face in his hands. George stared in amusement before looking at Tommy.

" Tommy, this is Dream. Dream, this is tomathy. " George said smirking at the younger. Tommy shook hands with Dream before scolding George.

" so, who is he? " Dream said, curiosity clearer than glass. George smiled and let his shoulders loosen up. " he's a friend of mine, he's 16. He just wants me to help him learn how to figure skate. " George said plainly, Dream hummed in acknowledgement. Tommy rolled his eyes and nodded his head. " why is a kid taller than you George? " Dream smirked as he tapped the counter with his fingers. George gasped jokingly, while Tommy had a hurt and joyful expression.

" number one bitch shit, I'm not a kid. Number 2, George is a fucking elf. " Tommy said , not holding his laugh back any longer. Dream wheezing with the kid. George blush in embarrassment, hitting the two boys on the arm gleefully.

" fine, sorry Georgie. What can I do for you two? " Dream asked, leveling his breath. George thought for a minute before answering. " some skates, gloves, ice skating bag and skate guards, we'll come back if he needs anything else. " George said as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Dream took in the sight of George's wavy brown hair as he ran his fingers through it, the wavy hair dropping just above his eyes. Dream let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding , " yeah sure, come with me. What size are Tommy? " Dream asked before walking out the counter to a back room which is where George assumed the ice skates where. 

" uhm. I don't know? 9? " Tommy said, laughing at his own forgetfulness. George grunted and laid his head down. Dream laughed and grabbed a pair of skates with ' 9 ' written on them. He handed the skates to Tommy so he could try them on. Tommy gladly took the skates and sat down on a small chair to try them on, and surprisingly, they fit. 

Dream grabbed some gloves different sizes and handed them to Tommy, letting him try them on to know which one fit him best.

" so? Apart of the hockey team and you work here? " George cooed as his body leaned against te counter, Dream nodded and put his head on George's shoulder. " yeah, I gotta get money some how. " Dream said , shifting his eyes to Tommy who just stared at them. 

" are you two dating? " Tommy asked as he slipped the pair of white gloves on his hands.  
Dream laughed and denied it, George stayed silent. But , George's heart fluttered at the accusation. As if he wanted it to be true.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

" so Tommy? You sure wanna do this? " George asked , hoping the kid would say yes. So he could have the pride in teaching someone. " yeah, I'm a big man! I'm not backing out. " Tommy said as he payed for the items. George smiled at the younger.

" Well, good luck man. " Dream smiled, walking around the counter to stand beside both George and Tommy. " thanks , Big D. " Tommy smiled, leaving George choking on his own saliva from laughing. Dream looked slightly down at Tommy, he glared and ruffled the youngers hair. " don't call me that. " Dream deadpanned. Tommy screeched and took Dreams hand off his head, making Dream laugh and George stop breathing for a moment from laughing so hard.

Dream and George smiled at each other before hugging and waving each other goodbye, George gleefully walked out the store with Tommy and their purchases. Leaving Dream to stare in awe.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Word count; 1,028


	7. Chapter 7 ⊱ tutoring ⊰

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George tutors Tommy and ends up hanging out with someone.

3rd person POV  
OMG! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR 1,8K+ READS! THATS INSANE! I LOVE YOU GUYS— stay hydrated! Have a great day <3  
[ btw these are not their real ages. ]  
[song; Sunday best by surfaces]

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Tommy and George walked down the sidewalk, sitting in a comfortable silence. " so, you can get an appropriate outfit from home before we go to the rink, does that sound good? " George asked Tommy, turning his gaze to the younger who just continued to walk while nodding his head. George smiled to himself and walked behind the blonde haired boy.

George saw the house, it was a homey 2 story house. Not too big but not too small. George stood at the pathway as a man with green tips and blonde hair came out the birch door. Tommy smiled at his father, well. Adoptive father. " Hi Tommy, I thought you went to talk to George? " Sam said softly while patting Tommy's shoulder. Tommys cheeks gained a soft pink tint. Making him look like a strawberry. George simply laughed at the boys embarrassment. " Sam! " Tommy said, dropping his head back and exiting the 'm'. " George! Why don't you come in? Tommy might take a while. " Sam asked as he shot tommy a glance, giving the boy a chance to go inside and up to his room.

George nodded and walked through the small pathway that connected to the door, making Sam step out the door and give him a chance to step in. As soon as George stepped in he saw a small chandelier hanging from the roof, hot being able to hit anyone's head due to the house being a pretty big loft. The house was nicely decorated by none other than, Sam. George had been here before but it always amazed him, the beautiful home.

" so! How have you been George, you still 18?" Sam asked, Sam saw George approximately 2 months before his birthday, George huffed out a laugh and shook his head. " no, turned 19 exactly 2 months ago. " George said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. Sam simply hummed in acknowledgment.

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Tommy came back downstairs in a black turtle neck, it looked right but he rode it off with black leggings, topping it off with the white gloves him and George had previously bought.

George smiled as he held out Tommy's duffle-bag with his skating necessities in it, Tommy looked away from George and grabbed the bag. " Tommy, be back by 8. Have fun and don't hurt anyone! " Sam said as he ruffled the boys hair, leaving Tommy to fix his hair. " aren't you supposed to say, ' don't get hurt? ' not ' don't hurt anyone.' ?" Tommy asked his father, the male with green tips shot him a glare which made Tommy groan and George laugh.

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George pushed the metal doors open, cold air from the inside floating up against himself. Tommy walked in behind George, the two males heading to the locker room. " okay so, pick a locker and put your bag there. Then just put on your skates and follow me to the ice. " George said as he tied up his skates and put on his gloves, fixing his hair in the process. " okay, bitch boy... " Tommy said, opening a locker door and stuffing his bag in then taking the gloves and skates out. Putting both skating necessities on. Tommy slightly parted his hair to the side as George did.

George was careful with his movements, ever since he went to the skating shop till here, even as he got on the ice. Tommy noticed that, but so did someone else who had been watching.

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George held Tommy's hands and glided through the ice. Tommy made weird movements as he screamed to be let go, making George bubble up with laughter.

" okay okay, I'll let go. " George said reasonably, Tommy finally slipped from his hands causing the boy to slide slightly along the ice, leaving small marks behind that almost looked like cracks.

" so, we can start with an axel jump, just follow my lead, okay? " George asked as he circled around the poor blonde haired boy on the ice. Tommy gulped and nodded his head. George waited for an insult or comeback but nothing came.

Tommy stood apart from George, mostly back to the walls where he held on for comfort. George inhaled and exhaled, his oxygen looking like little smoke clouds. George skated around a bit before lifting himself off the ground and intertwining his legs just a bit, hitting the ice gracefully and lowering his body a bit for impact. Snow particles hit his face, making him look extra magnificent even if it was just for tutoring.

Tommy stared in awe but quickly snapped out of it as soon as George came by to him. " okay, just try your best, remember to lower yourself just a bit before landing. " George said tenderly, brushing a hand on Tommy's shoulder for comfort. Tommy simply rolled his eyes and awkwardly skated for a bit before doing the axel jump.

" watch me bitch boy! " Tommy simply said before giving himself words of encouragement and praying he wouldn't get hurt. The teenager slowly lifted himself off the ground, George noticed something. The jump was too high for a beginner. So he skated over as the blonde boy twirled in the air.

Tommy fell but didn't feel the impact of his feet hitting the frozen liquid. George had caught him before he landed, yes he got some scrapes but at least the younger wasn't hurt.

" oh shit Gogy—, are you okay? " Tommy asked trying not to laugh at his own stupidity, George knew he always had a thing for out stepping anyone. George sighed and nodded as he let go Tommy from his arms, swiping his thumb over his cheek. Cleaning the smallest bit of blood. 

" god, you have to be more careful, Tommy. " George said , merciful, Tommy rolled his eyes and flipped him off. " you do know my middle name is danger right? " Tommy said proudly puffing his chest. Causing the two to laugh after a few minutes of silence.

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George walked home after dropping off Tommy at his home with his adoptive family. George stared at the moon as it glared back down at him with moonlight. 

" Boo! " Someone said behind him as the person touched his shoulder. Causing him to jump in reflex and hit the person in the face.

" Fuck ow! " Dream yelped , holding his nose in pain. " oh my gosh— I'm so sorry Dream! " George said apologetically, but the younger male waved him off. " it's fine, it's my fault either way. " Dream said gingerly, laughing at his injury. George scoffed and looked up at Dream.

" so? What's up? " George asked putting his hands on his hips and smirking. Dream took his hand off his nose and patted George's head. " nothing just saw you leaving the ice rink and thought to catch up to you. " Dream said as he shrugged.

George thought for a moment, then came up with an idea. " why don't we hang out for a bit? I bet my mom wouldn't mind me being an hour or two late. " George asked plainly as he lowered his arms to his sides and fixed his bags position on his shoulder. Dream nodded. 

The two males walked side by side to the nearest park in the moonlight.

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Wc; 1,235


	8. Chapter 8 ❀ loveless ❀

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An interruption is caused by George’s mother which causes George’s mood to flip upside down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this while crying and listening to Wilbur soot without many ideas so stick with me, the next chapter will have more angst by the way 🥳

3rd person POV  
[ song; the mind electric by Miracle Musical ]

Tw ; psychological and manipulative abuse / manipulation 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

George and Dream walked side by side down the paved sidewalk, not speaking. Yet, sitting in comfortable silence. The light from the moon shined out their path, making it easier to see even with the post lights. 

The two males finally found a spot to sit at. George was the first to sit down on the grass , the glass tickling his bottom half slightly. Dream groaned softly as he sat down next to George, the two boys then laid down, looking up from the trees to the stars. 

" so, uh, Dream. Why'd you move to California? " George asked the dirty blonde that was laying down next to him, he fiddled with his fingers. The male sighed and smiled as he lifted his hand up to the sky, connecting the stars together which sat still in the sky, almost mocking the two boys.

" maybe because my father needed a job? " Dream laughed at himself before turning his head and facing George himself, George simply nodded his head and looked back up at the stars. The shined brighter than anything he has ever seen, but Dream could argue, He thought George shined brighter than any star in the world.

" what about you, why do you live here? " Dream asked, but almost retorted his question once he heard George laughing. George thought it was a dumb question nonetheless but then again he does have a British accent which is probably why he would ask that. " well, I've lived here my whole life, I was just born in England idiot. " George said aimlessly as he hit dreams arm playfully.

" where did you live before , if you don't mind me asking. " George asked softly as he got a hold of his on arm and took is back from punching Dream's. Dream lit up and lifted his arms almost making a swaying motion before staring at George.

" the sweet place called, Orlando Florida. " Dream snickered as he mimicked waves with his hands. George rolled his eyes and playfully smiled, tickling dream's side. 

" of course you're a Floridian. " George joked as he continued to tickle dream, Dream gasped jokingly as he tried to stop his fit of giggles. " what's that supposed to mean?! " Dream asked as he grabbed George arm and flipped him over, making him be on top of him. 

" hm, what do you think it means? " George smirked at his owns words, dragging out the 'm'. Dream rolled his eyes and started tickling George, making the smaller yet elder boy flinch and squirm beneath him. 

George covered his mouth but it was too late, he started bursting into fits of laughter, letting his perly white smile show, and it melted dream's heart.

" Dream! " George squirmed and tried to screech out in the middle of his little fit. Dream and George just kept going at it, the two tickling each other and beaming with happiness.

George's phone rang in his pocket, making his whole body slightly vibrate at the feeling. Dream stopped teasing him and they both let go of each other. George slowly grabbed his phone from his pocket and pulled up the contact, 'mother' it read. George sighed and rose the phone up to his left ear, making sure to press the answer button.

" hello? " George asked calmly, but deep inside he was shaking in his skin. His mother was the worst person he could think of, she was like a tyrant. She ruled over his life even if he was over the age of 18, but he couldn't do anything, because well, That was his mom.

" George! Oh my god, I was so scared. Where are you, dear? “ his mother asked sweetly but in reality the words were filled with poison which burned his skin. The brown haired boy sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, bringing his knees up to his stomach. " just, with a friend. " George said painfully slow as the moonlight hit his pale skin, making him glow. 

Dream didn't know why being called a 'Friend' hurt, he was George's friend after all.

" shouldn't you be practicing? You don't have time for friends. " George's mother asked, all her words felt likes knifes digging into his skin, making him bleed by just a few sentences. It felt like he was disappointing her. " I did practice mother, just needed a break I guess. " George said tenderly, trying to smile. But Dream heard his mother, he decided to not dig into something that wasn't his business, But he was about to explode.

" dear George, you can't just take breaks. You're so close to the championships, your dear mother wants you to do your best. " George's mother said fondly, George sighed, he slowly rose from his spot and grabbed his duffle bag he had put down just a few moments earlier.

"Yes mother, I know but— " George said but he was shortly cut off by his own mother, making him flinch at the sudden reaction. " no george, you're so hard to talk to. Don't you know little old me just wants the best for you. Why can't you just listen to me? " George's mother asked, she sounded like she was on the verge of tears. It made George's heart break. He was the cause if this, he had dissatisfied his mother. 

George took the phone away from his face, covering the speaker while doing so. " hey, maybe we can hang out some other day? I have to go home. " George said earnestly, trying to show his forgiveness. George's bag swung over his shoulder, making small sounds from the stuff that were inside.

Dream looked away and grabbed George's shoulder, George's brown chocolate like eyes were glassy, they looked like they could start a river at any minute. Dream sighed and patted George's head. " yeah, go on. I'll see you later. " Dream said with a soft smile pulling at his lips. George nodded and walked off, trying to convince his mom that he would do better.

Dream sighed and stood at the same place George had left him. He groaned at himself, he wished he could've done more. But he didn't know George that well, he couldn't just beg him to stay or open his eyes. He just hoped for the best.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Wc; 1,057


End file.
